Key developments on Oct. 2: * Key Kyiv bridge hit by Russian drones fourth time in 2 days * Ukraine aims to produce up to 400 interceptor drones as Russian jet-powered drone use grows, Zelensky says * UK sanctions 7 Russians over deportation, indoctrination of Ukrainian children * Russian Mi-8 helicopter reportedly shot down in friendly-fire incident over Voronezh Oblast * Russian glide bombs strike Kharkiv, kill women, injure children * Russia planning to increase "hybrid warfare" activi

The Russian special services are targeting military facilities, critical infrastructure, and communication systems, Ukraine's military intelligence service (HUR) warned.

Among those returned were people held under forced medical treatment and at risk of mobilization by Russia, according to Ukraine's human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets.

One of the Russian glide-bombs "completely destroyed" a residential building, Kharkiv city mayor Ihor Terekhov said.

Marinka Hritsik has watched Ukraine’s dairy farming traditions change before her eyes. "There were eighteen (household-owned) cows in our village in 2022, but now there are seven," said the family farmer from near Chernihiv. "By winter, there probably won’t be any left." Hritsik's story reflects a national shift: Ukraine's smaller dairy farms are disappearing while the biggest keep growing. High costs and low prices, EU rules, and the war are pushing small producers out even as the government'

Russian troops were left with no food, water, or ammunition and had to drink their own urine to survive after being abandoned by their commanders, POWs captured by Ukraine have said. The claims were made in a video published by Ukraine's 3rd Army Corps, which captured the Russian soldiers during Ukraine's "Operation Vivaldi," an ongoing successful counteroffensive against the Russian salient to the north of the city of Lyman, which has seen months of Russian offensive progress reversed in a mat

Ukrainian Telegram channel Dossier of a Spy said that the Mi-8 was mistakenly shot down by a Su-35 during Ukraine's drone attack.

Latvia will elect a new parliament this weekend, in an election dominated by security concerns over the now emboldened Russia next door and a cost-of-living crisis shaping the domestic agenda. The Oct. 3 vote for the 100-member unicameral parliament — the Saeima — will be the second since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a war in which Latvia threw its full support behind Kyiv. It also comes as Western officials raise alarm over Moscow's escalating hybrid threat — a particul

In this report, the Kyiv Independent travels to Odesa and the surrounding region to document how intensified Russian attacks are threatening the city, its ports, and Ukraine’s vital Black Sea trade route.

The sanctions target Artur Orlov, head of Russia's Movement of the First, a state-backed organization for children and young people, as well as five heads of its regional branches in occupied parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts and Crimea.

Ukraine is testing five types of high-speed interceptor drones designed to shoot down the faster Russian weapons, according to Volodymyr Zelensky.

The Kyiv City Military Administration said on Oct. 2 that the Southern Bridge is closed in both directions.

"This is very timely support, which will help ensure Ukraine’s macro-financial stability and strengthen our defense capabilities," said President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Ukrainian drones previously struck the Samara station in April, causing a large fire and damaging five crude oil tanks, each with a capacity of 20,000 cubic meters, a source in the Security Service of Ukraine told the Kyiv Independent at the time.

By denying a confidentiality agreement on the transfer of North Korean POWs, Kyiv is "making the head of state of another country out to be a liar," South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said.

The bus was already operating on its route and carrying passengers when the attack occurred.

"I would like to thank all the experts - Hungarian and Ukrainian - for their constructive, forward-looking, and insightful work in the past weeks," said Hungary's Foreign Minister Anita Orban.

"Fayard’s service of the LNG fleet is a blemish on Danish support for Ukraine. We will continue to pressure Fayard to stop," said Jens Alstrup, chairman of the NGO Freedom for Ukraine.

Kyiv will provide Washington and Congress with details of companies and individuals supporting the Rassvet network, Ukraine’s acting ambassador to the U.S., Denys Sienik, said, Reuters reported on Sept. 30.

Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko has worked his way out of Western isolation before. Now, he seems to be launching yet another attempt. U.S. President Donald Trump on Sept. 21 announced a "massive" potash deal with Belarus, and only days later, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski held talks with his Belarusian counterpart in the first ministerial meeting in seven years. Belarus has faced international isolation since the heavily disputed 2020 presidential elections, which Lukashe

Kyiv has faced repeated Russian attacks in recent days. A large-scale Russian missile and drone attack beginning on Sept. 30 killed four people and injured at least eight, while also damaging residential and energy infrastructure in the capital.

The number includes 1,520 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.

Putin repeatedly said in interviews in early March 2022 that conscripts were not being asked to participate in the invasion and would not be sent to fight. Only days later, Russia’s Defense Ministry to acknowledged that some conscripts had been deployed to Ukraine and captured.

"We fought until the last moment, both publicly and privately, to prevent this from happening," Sybiha said. "You removed two oligarchs, and we will add twenty."

Putin's comments echoed warnings Russia issued to NATO on Sept. 30, saying that it would be ready to use nuclear weapons if alliance members attempt to isolate the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.

Led by a "sanctioned and convicted criminal fraudster," and a state-owned Russian bank tied to the military, the A7 shadow network has helped Russian entities evade sanctions since 2024.

The latest strike follows other attacks on the Southern Bridge on Oct. 1, where two Russian drones hit near the bridge's supports. This was the first time Russian drones have targeted one of the capital's bridges.

The jet-black Russian munition slammed into the Presidium building of Ukraine's National Academy of Sciences, an iconic Tsarist-era structure right in the center of Kyiv, setting the building on fire. Survivors climbed out of the windows and clambered onto the building's ledges, fleeing the flames and choking black smoke. Two people were killed in the attack. Around an hour later, an identical munition struck a private medical clinic a few blocks away. The Geran-5 jet-powered drone is Russia's

Key developments on Oct. 1: * Russian losses soar by 46% during 2026 * Russian drones strike Kyiv school, key bridge linking eastern, western banks of city * Russian drone strikes Kyiv nuclear institute housing research reactor * Ukrainian pilot dies after MiG-29 fighter shot down by Russian missile * 'Returning Russia's sick war to where it came from' — Ukraine marks Defenders Day Russian forces suffered an estimated 46,230 personnel losses in September, the highest monthly figure re

The Kyiv Independent’s new Companion Collection 🐾 brings together matching items for people and their pets while supporting animals rescued from Ukraine’s front-line communities.

On the night of Aug. 1, Olena Rozhniativska and her 18-year-old daughter Kateryna rushed to a bomb shelter as ballistic missiles tore into Kyiv during one of Russia's mass attacks. They were killed before they could hide in an underground shelter, along with five other people in Darnytskyi district that night. "I didn't even have time to get out of the bedroom before there was already this terrible explosion," recalls Raisa, a 70-year-old Darnytskyi resident who does not want to be identified.

Asked what the missile struck, Zelensky's communications advisor told the Kyiv Independent: "We're not telling."